Taking Flight
by MudkipStar
Summary: The dragon cats, cats with dragon wings and bladed dragon tails, have been hiding themselves from the Clans for a very long time. When they reveal themselves to get the Clan cats to stop hunting on their territory, it changes everything. No characters from the books appear in this story.
1. Chapter 1

Reedfeather the dragon cat jumped off a cliff. Although this might have been a problem for a normal cat, Reedfeather wasn't a normal cat.

She could fly.

The winged cat plunged downward, feeling the wind whistle through her fur, both tails, a cat tail and a dragon tail, whipped back and forth by the speed of her descent. Tiny pieces of earth stung Reedfeather's face, but she was too exhilarated to notice. It looked like she would hit the ground and shatter every bone in her body. If anybody had been watching, they would surely have been holding their breath and bracing themselves for the sound of a body hitting solid rock.

But that sound never came. Instead, there was a snap as immense dragon wings opened at the last second and a shriek of joy as the red-and-yellow dragon cat hurtled through the forest, using her bladed dragon tail to navigate between barely-missed trees.

Eventually, the young flier's wild flight came to a stop on top of a tall tree near the Twolegplace. She hid her wings and dragon tail with the illusion powers that all dragon cats had, an action they called a zhon. She watched the Twolegs scurry about far below, her cat tail flicking back and forth.

For the thousandth time, she wondered why Twolegs did the strange things they did. Going around in brightly colored monsters at crazy speeds, capturing cats and putting collars on them, keeping dogs as pets... were all Twolegs completely insane? They looked so strange, with no fur except on the tops of their heads and sometimes their faces. And they went around covering themselves with colored pelts that weren't even their own pelts. Couldn't they just grow their own fur instead of only having it on their heads? Where did all the other fur go?

As Reedfeather mused on the oddness of Twolegs, a particular pair caught her eye. There was a full-grown Twoleg and a smaller Twoleg in a large green space, rare in Twolegplaces. The full-grown Twoleg was standing and watching the little Twoleg crouching on all fours in the grass. Was it trying to hunt? If it was, it wasn't very good at it. Something about the big Twoleg's attitude reminded the watching dragon cat of a mother watching over her kits. Perhaps Twolegs were more like cats than they seemed.

Reedfeather was jerked out of her thoughts at the sound of another dragon cat flying towards her. She turned to see one of her best friends, Dragonsplash, approaching her, sleek black fur gleaming whenever a shaft of sunlight hit it. Dragonsplash was the healer of the Dragonwings, their group of dragon cats, but since her services were so rarely required she often acted as a hunting flier as well. She landed on the same branch as Reedfeather and zhon'd.

"I knew I'd find you here," Dragonsplash said, amusement glittering in her emerald eyes, which were the same shade as Reedfeather's. "You've always been fascinated by the Twolegs and the things they do."

"More like I've always wanted to figure out if all of them are crazy," Reedfeather replied, smiling. "But maybe they're more like us than we think."

"What are you talking about?" Dragonsplash asked curiously.

"Well, look down there," Reedfeather began to explain. "See that big Twoleg, watching the little Twoleg in the big meadow-like area?" She pointed with her tail to the pair she'd been watching. They were still doing the same thing.

"Yeah, I see them," her friend replied, intrigued.

"Doesn't the big one remind you of a mother cat watching her kits? Making sure they're safe while they're playing?"

The black dragon cat watched for a moment, then gasped. "I see it! Who would have thought a Twoleg would ever do something so like a cat?"

"I know!" Reedfeather replied. Both cats watched the Twolegs for a few minutes until Dragonsplash turned to Reedfeather. "Well, anyway, unless you plan to catch and eat a Twoleg, we should leave. We're supposed to be hunting."

"Oh."

They both un-zhon'd and launched themselves into the air, soaring nearly as high as the clouds. Since they weren't in a hurry, they had time to wait for airborne prey to appear. As they scanned the landscape for possible targets, Reedfeather was struck with a sudden thought. "You know, there's something else about Twolegs and dragon cats."

"Another way we're exactly the same?" Dragonsplash asked jokingly.

"No, a difference," Reedfeather continued thoughtfully.

"Well?" Dragonsplash asked. "Don't just leave me hanging, tell me what it is!"

"The Twolegs are everywhere, and they know it. There are hundreds, even thousands of them. But as far as we know, the Dragonwings are the only dragon cats in existence. Only twenty of us." Reedfeather looked down sadly. "They're everywhere, and we're alone."

Just as Dragonsplash started to reply, she was shushed by Reedfeather, who had just spotted a hawk far below. She paused to assess the wind speed and direction before going into a soundless dive, plunging towards the hawk, which still didn't even know about the presence of the deadly predator diving towards it. Just before colliding with the hawk, Reedfeather somersaulted in the air, bringing the deadly curved blade on her dragon tail down to kill the hawk instantly. She quickly caught the hawk between her front paws and ascended quickly, sending a quick prayer to the Starwings, the spirits of the dragon cats' ancestors, to thank them for the life of the hawk. When Reedfeather rejoined Dragonsplash high above the trees, she noted that the healer had caught a sparrow, which she carried in her mouth. It was a good catch, but not as impressive as a hawk.

"I think we have enough," Dragonsplash decided, her voice muffled by her feathery catch. "Let's go home."

The two friends headed back towards the camp, satisfied at a job well done. About halfway back, they met up with Reedfeather's other best friend, Icesky. Icesky was the deputy of the Dragonwings, which meant that she was second-in-command and would be the next leader. She was carrying a starling, and although the three friends exchanged greetings, conversation was made impossible by the birds effectively gagging Dragonsplash and Icesky. They flew the rest of the way in friendly silence.

_The hunting was good today,_ Reedfeather thought. _Normally, it's hard to find any prey above the treetops, but today none of us had to do any ground hunting._

Eventually, they began to dive through the trees, taking advantage of a tiny hole in the canopy that was barely visible from above. Branches whipped against their faces until they finally broke through the tree canopy to spiral down into an open space, like a clearing completely hidden by the leaves of the trees. Below, dragon cats ate, groomed themselves, and chatted with each other. Some looked up as leaves shaken loose by the three friends' dive landed on or nearby them.

It was the home of the Dragonwings.

**A/N: So what do you think? Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated, but no flames please! The other chapters I have finished will be up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

Reedfeather and her friends glided down towards the prey pile to add their prey. They then chose their own prey and settled down to eat. Reedfeather chose a rabbit. Dragonsplash and Icesky took a thrush and a vole.

It was a completely normal day in the camp. Dragon cats were scattered around the camp in small groups, eating or talking. Some were on the ground, like Icesky, Dragonsplash, and Reedfeather, and some were perched on tree branches. Kits were playing on some boulders near the edge, using their tiny wings to glide from boulder to boulder as they played out a pretend battle - a bit unrealistic, as the dragon cats hid their presence from their only neighbors, but the kits didn't care about realism. Reedfeather heard one shout "My magic giant skeleton bird beats your magic humongous bear." Nearby, their mothers watched protectively, ready to intervene if things got too rough.

Everything was normal until their leader, Skystar, screeched to get their attention for a meeting.

Skystar was a gray she-cat with thick fur. She was young for a leader, only 62 moon-turns, but she was a very good leader. Her amber eyes flashed as she flew up to the top of a tall boulder with a couple wing beats.

"The Clan cats have gone too far," she declared. "We have allowed them to trespass in order to continue to hide our existence, but now they have begun to hunt in our territory."

"Splashbird, what are Clan cats?" Cloudkit whispered to her mother.

"They're cats who live in groups like ours, but they call themselves Clans," Splashbird told her daughter.

"Why do we hide from them?"

"What are we going to do about it?" Icesky called out.

"We're going to go to their camps and tell them this is our territory, and they must not hunt here. We won't fight unless we have no choice."

"Who's going to go?" Reedfeather asked.

"I'll go, and Icesky and Reedfeather will come with me," Skystar decided.

"Can Stormpaw and Sunnypaw come with us? I think it would be good experience for them to meet regular cats," Reedfeather said. Skystar and Reedfeather's apprentices looked startled and excited.

"All right," Skystar agreed. "We'll leave right away." She let out another screech, ending the meeting, and the four chosen cats lifted off with their leader, heading towards Clan territory.

As they entered the territory of one of the Clans, they chose a space just outside the camp to land and waited for a patrol.

"Don't zhon," Skystar told the Dragonwings. "Let's show them what we truly are."

Soon enough, a group of Clan cats showed up. They were led by a dark tabby tom, and there was also a yellow queen with them and a young ginger tom Reedfeather assumed was an apprentice. They were surprised at the sight of the intruders, and shocked when they saw their wings and dragon tails. However, the surprise didn't detract from their hostility at finding strangers so near their camp.

"You're in ThunderClan territory," the lead cat hissed. "Who are you and why are you here?"

As the tabby challenged the intruders, the ginger apprentice asked the yellow queen, "Why do those cats have wings and extra tails, Echoshadow?"

"I don't know, Sparrowpaw. I'm confused too," she answered.

At the same time, Sunnypaw asked her mentor, "Reedfeather, why are they all zhon'd?"

"They aren't," Reedfeather replied. Seeing Sunnypaw and Stormpaw's surprise, she explained, "They aren't dragon cats. They can't fly, they only have one tail, and they can't zhon."

"Wow," Stormpaw said. "That must be terrible."

Ignoring the conversation going on behind her, Skystar replied to the tabby's challenge. "My name is Skystar, leader of the Dragonwings, and this is Reedfeather, Stormpaw, Sunnypaw, and my deputy, Icesky. We want to talk to your leader."

"Why?" the patrol leader growled.

"That's between me and your leader," Skystar answered calmly.

The warrior hesitated, then reluctantly gave in. "Fine. Follow me. Echoshadow, Sparrowpaw, the patrol will have to wait," he told the other cats.

The dragon cats followed the tabby to the ThunderClan camp, which wasn't far away. As they pushed through a fern barrier into the camp, Reedfeather was surprised by how similar the camp was to their own camp. Cats were eating and talking, kits were playing... they even had a prey pile like the Dragonwings'!

A silver queen looked up from her sparrow, seeming confused when she saw the dark tabby. "Shadepelt? Why are you back already?" The puzzlement in her sky-blue eyes turned to surprise and alarm as she noticed the dragon cats. "Who are these cats and why have you brought them to our camp?"

"Shimmerstar." The tabby, Shadepelt, dipped his head respectfully. "I found them just outside the camp. They want to talk to you."

Skystar stepped forward. "I am Skystar, leader of the Dragonwings, and this is Reedfeather, Sunnypaw, Stormpaw, and my deputy, Icesky." She indicated each cat as she named them. "Who are you?"

"I'm Shimmerstar, leader of ThunderClan," she replied. "What do you need to speak to me about?"

"Our territory is just outside yours. In the past, we have allowed your cats to trespass in our territory without penalty, as we did not want to reveal ourselves. However, recently your cats have begun hunting in our territory, and that we cannot allow," Skystar explained. "We don't want a fight, as we understand that you didn't know we were there, but we needed to make sure you understood this will not be tolerated in the future."

"Of course," Shimmerstar agreed. "We will try to stay out of your territory."

Just then, Reedfeather's belly gave a loud rumble. She looked embarrassed.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't get to finish my prey before we left..."

"Well, you'll have to wait a little longer before we go back. ThunderClan isn't the only Clan that's been hunting in our territory. We still have to find the Clan in the pines," Skystar told the young flier, amusement in her eyes.

"Wait. It's a long way to the ShadowClan camp. You should have some prey before you leave. Consider it repayment for the prey we took from your territory," Shimmerstar told them.

"Thank you very much. We won't stay long," Skystar promised. She nodded at the other cats. "Don't eat the whole prey-pile."

The five cats each took a small piece of prey and devoured it hungrily. Then, after they said their goodbyes to ThunderClan, Skystar screeched and the Dragonwings took off, headed for ShadowClan territory.


	3. Chapter 3

As the five Dragonwings flew towards the territory of the cats who called themselves 'ShadowClan', they noticed a sound like very large wings flapping. When Icesky looked back to check what it was, her eyes widened in fear.

"Oh my Starwings..." she whispered. "It's a dragon! FLY!"

Dragons were very rare, but very large. Even a small one, like the one chasing the Dragonwings, was a hundred times bigger than a dragon cat. They had the same powers of illusion as the dragon cats, but even stronger, and could see through stronger illusions than dragon cats could. Large dragons never went after dragon cats, although small ones would sometimes.

The Dragonwing patrol flew away as fast as they could, screaming. The dragon followed close behind.

Not too far away, in a glade with a stream running through it, everything was peaceful. Some squirrels were doing random stuff, and even the fish were relaxing. It was completely quiet.

Then they heard something overhead, moving very fast.

:"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" It sounded like screaming, and right behind it the flapping of gigantic wings. All the animals looked up.

Five small blurs and one extremely big blur flashed past. The screaming faded to nothing as they sped away.

The Dragonwings flew as fast as they could, the apprentices struggling to keep up. Still the dragon stayed right behind.

The cats looked around desperately for an escape. Then Icesky spotted a hole in the ground, big enough for the four cats but not for the dragon. They dived for it, the two young cats barely making it. They crouched there in terror, the dragon's jaws snapping inches away from their fur. Finally, the dragon gave up and moved off. Once its strong, pungent smell was no longer clogging their nostrils, they smelled something else, right behind them.

"Bear!" shrieked Sunnypaw. "Fly!"

Once they had left the angry mother bear roaring in fury on the ground, they relaxed, thinking they were safe. When Reedfeather saw the angry hawk heading for them, she wasn't worried. One hawk was no match for five dragon cats, even if two were only apprentices. Then she saw the other twenty angry hawks.

"Oh, Starwings!" she screamed. "Let's get out of here!"

Again, they flew off, screaming.

When the patrol spotted a clearing in the pines below, they dived for it, hoping the hawks wouldn't follow. They didn't.

When they landed, exhausted and hopefully safe this time, they relaxed, except for Stormpaw, who kept screaming.

"Shut up, Stormpaw, we're safe!" Sunnypaw told him, exasperated.

He stopped screaming and relaxed.

Then the five dragon cats noticed the hostile normal cats surrounding them. A gray tom stepped forward, amber eyes glinting angrily.

"I am Rainstar, leader of ShadowClan," he growled angrily. "What are you doing in our camp?"

**A/N: Cliffie! Well not really since by the time you read this the next chapter will probably be up... but anyway! Reviews are nice! I know this chapter is shorter than the first two, but the only reason for that is because the first two have been revised and the others haven't, so the others should gain some length soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Okay, before we get to chapter 4 I need to get something out of my system. Here it is. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE you guys are awesome! I decided to check my email when we were in the computer lab during 5th hour, and what do I see? Two follows, a favorite, and two reviews! I spent the next hour and a half trying not to explode from overwhelming joy! Unfortunately my 6th hour teacher refused to allow me to scream in overwhelming joy but it was still absolutely amazing!**_

_**Ok on to the story now.**_

The dragon cats looked at the hostile ShadowClan cats surrounding them. They realized they might have shattered their only chance at a diplomatic solution.

"Oops..." Sunnypaw said timidly.

Rainstar hissed again. "Well?" he asked coldly. "Why are you here?"

Skystar stepped forward. "We wanted to talk to you," she replied calmly. "There are some..." She searched for the right word to use. "...issues we need to resolve."

The cats relaxed a little, but did not let down their guard. "What issues? We've never even seen you before!" Rainstar exclaimed.

"The issues did not exist until recently, and we were... reluctant to reveal our existence," Skystar explained. "But then, until recently you only hunted in your own territory. Not ours."

"You still haven't told us who you are," Rainstar said suspiciously.

"My apologies. I am Skystar, leader of the Dragonwings."

For some reason, knowing Skystar's name made Rainstar more relaxed. "And the others?" he asked.

"This is Icesky, my deputy; Reedfeather, one of my fliers; her apprentice, Sunnypaw; and Stormpaw, my apprentice." As she introduced each cat, Skystar pointed to them with her dragon tail.

Rainstar nodded in greeting at each name. "What are these 'issues' you wanted to discuss?"

Reedfeather looked at the apprentices. "If this gets nasty, which it probably won't, but if it does happen, zhon yourselves and get back to camp. It probably will be fine, but be ready," she hissed to them.

"But-" Sunnypaw protested.

"Butts are for sitting on. Don't argue!" Reedfeather ordered. "You haven't learned how to fight yet."

A shadowy figure in a nearby tree smiled at Reedfeather's words...

While this was going on, the negotiations between the two leaders had almost concluded. Reedfeather switched her attention from the apprentices to Rainstar's words.

"We apologize for the misunderstanding," he was saying. "We'll stay out of your territory from now on. On one condition."

"What would that be?"

"That you stay out of ours."

"That won't be a problem," Skystar assured him, smiling. "Thank you for listening. I hope to see you again, in peaceful circumstances of course."

"Of course," Rainstar agreed.

Skystar screeched as a signal to take off, and the Dragonwings finally headed home.

_**A/N: That's it for now - however this chapter, like many other chapters, will probably be significantly revised in the future, so don't be confused if the word count changes without any extra chapters. Keep being awesome and please review!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: I apologize so much for how short this chapter is! I love reading longer chapters, unfortunately they aren't so easy to write. Hopefully it will gain length soon.**_

As the Dragonwing patrol approached the camp, they started to hear screeching coming from it. They looked at each other and, by unspoken agreement, sped up. When they reached the camp they saw that the twenty one angry hawks had found fifteen more angry hawks and were now attacking the Dragonwings' home. Since there were only about twenty Dragonwings, including the five kits and three elders, they were badly outnumbered, even though one adult dragon cat could easily fight a hawk. They needed help.

The patrol landed, and when Skystar assessed the situation, she knew they had no chance on their own against 36 angry hawks. She whirled to face the two apprentices. "Fly back to ThunderClan as fast as you can. Tell them we're under attack and need help!" she ordered them.

"But we want to help!" Stormpaw protested.

"You haven't been trained to fight, and if we don't get backup you won't be around to help anyone. Go!"

The two apprentices leaped into the air and flew towards ThunderClan as fast as their wings would take them. The three grown cats took off and threw themselves into the battle.

Reedfeather saw a hawk flying towards the space under the rocks where the kits were hiding. She dived and hovered in between the hawk and its objective, snarling. It attacked her, and they wrestled in the air, screeching. Eventually the hawk broke free and flew off, too hurt to continue. Reedfeather shrieked in triumph and landed to catch her breath, looking around to find her next target.

Just then, she was distracted as, on the ground, Sunnypaw and Stormpaw burst from the trees. They were followed by a patrol which seemed to Reedfeather to contain the whole of ThunderClan. Reedfeather yowled in relief that help had come. Then she felt a piercing pain in her side and everything went black.

_**A/N: Reviews, favorites, and follows are always nice - although they aren't mandatory. Stay awesome!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Here's chapter 6. Length is once again my enemy :( I promise Chapter 7 is longer. Like, probably at least twice as long. Enjoy!**_

Reedfeather lashed both her tails restlessly. It was an entire week since that idiotic angry hawk with its unnecessarily sharp beak had opened that frustrating wound in her side, and she still wasn't allowed to go flying. It was so frustrating!

Dragonsplash, who was the healer of the Dragonwings as well as a flier, walked into the small den where sick and injured cats stayed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Restless," Reedfeather growled. "Why can't I go flying?"

"Because that hawk cut you pretty deep, and flying will just open the wound up again," Dragonsplash explained.

"I don't see how flying will open a cut on my side. Flying uses wings," Reedfeather grumbled.

"You'd be surprised," Dragonsplash said briskly. "No flying until I say so."

"But can't I just go outside?" Reedfeather asked plaintively, almost begging.

Dragonsplash hesitated, then relented. "All right," she finally said. "But if you start flying, you'll be in here until that cut heals, restless or not!"

"I won't fly," Reedfeather promised, already heading towards the entrance.

She sat just outside the den, savoring the fresh air. She could barely resist the urge to spread her wings and fly, but she didn't want to be stuck in the healing den for any longer than she had to, so she just enjoyed being outside.

Across the clearing, Sunnypaw had just finished eating a hawk that had been killed during the battle. She looked around and spotted Reedfeather by the den. She bounded over, meowing happily.

"Reedfeather! You're finally out of the den!" she meowed happily. "Does this mean we can start training together again?"

"Not yet," Reedfeather told her apprentice, amused at her enthusiasm. "But I'm sure it will be soon."

"That's awesome! I mean, Icesky's doing a great job training me," she added, "but it's not the same. I can't wait for you to get better!" Sunnypaw happily babbled on, informing Reedfeather of all that had happened recently and the myriad adventures of the kits. Reedfeather was content just to listen.

"...and then Stonekit dropped onto Cloudkit from above! You should have seen it, Reedfeather, Stonekit sitting on Cloudkit's face, looking so triumphant!" Sunnypaw and Reedfeather both laughed.

"Come on, Sunnypaw, we're going hunting!" Icesky called to Sunnypaw.

"Bye, Reedfeather!" Sunnypaw called as she scampered off.

Reedfeather continued to enjoy the fresh air. She sat outside until it got dark, then she went inside and dreamed of flying.

**_A/N: Did you laugh at the mental image of one kit triumphantly sitting on another's face? I did. So adorable ^.^ Stay awesome!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: Chapter 7. This chapter is longer, probably because I didn't write the whole thing at Creative Writing Club. _**

**_One moon-turn = one month. Refers to how the moon turns dark, then light, then dark again over a month._**

**_Enjoy!_**

"What are we going to do tonight?" Sunnypaw asked Reedfeather as they flew towards the Dragonwings' border with the Clans, specifically their new allies, ThunderClan. It was a clear, crisp summer night. The full moon was just starting to rise above the trees.

Skystar looked back from where she was flying just ahead of them, discussing Dragonwing-running logistics with Icesky. "I've decided we should mark our borders, like the Clans do," she explained to Sunnypaw. "That way, cats won't wander into our territory on accident."

Stormpaw darted back towards them. He had been flying out in front and back towards the patrol over and over since they left camp, frustrated they weren't going faster. Privately, Reedfeather agreed with him, but her side still wasn't completely healed and Dragonsplash had warned her flying faster than running speed could open it up again, and then Reedfeather would be grounded again. And she didn't want that.

As he approached, Stormpaw announced, "There's a patrol of cats at the border. They want to talk to Skystar."

"Why?" Skystar asked.

"They didn't say. They just asked me to come get you."

Just then, the Dragonwings reached the border and glided to a halt just in front of the ThunderClan patrol.

"Shimmerstar," Skystar greeted the ThunderClan leader. She looked curiously at the two unfamiliar warriors behind her.

"Hello, Skystar. This is Dovelight and Ashstorm." She waved her tail at the cats behind her, a pale gray she-cat with amber eyes and a darker gray tom with silver flecks and pale yellow eyes.

"What brings you here? Do you need help?" Skystar asked, concerned.

"No," Shimmerstar replied, "we've come with an invitation."

"An invitation to what?" Sunnypaw asked, and then was promptly scolded by Reedfeather for interrupting Shimmerstar.

The silver queen smiled. "Every full moon, the four Clans - ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan - have a Gathering. We share news, socialize, and as long as the full moon shines, there is a truce..."

Reedfeather reflected on the invitation as the Dragonwings glided down into the Gathering clearing. Only a moon-turn ago, the Dragonwings would never have even imagined attending a Gathering of normal cats. In fact, many of the dragon cats had believed that the normal cats and their Clans were just a kit's nursery tale.

She looked around the clearing, curious. Four tall stones were ranged around the clearing, and in the center was a large tree. And cats were everywhere. Reedfeather thought that all three other Clans must already be there, based on how many cats had come just from ThunderClan. As the Dragonwing patrol landed in the clearing, with Skystar setting down next to Shimmerstar, the cats reacted in different ways: some afraid, some angry, some curious. Three cats sitting in the tree rose. Reedfeather saw Rainstar among them and realized the other two had to be the leaders of RiverClan and WindClan.

"Who, and what, have you brought to our Gathering, Shimmerstar?" a brown queen asked, yellow eyes flashing angrily. She was thin and wiry, but she didn't look starved. She looked like she was built that way. Thinking back to the stories of the Clans she'd heard as a kit, Reedfeather guessed she was the leader of WindClan, remembering descriptions of how the WindClan cats always looked skinny to the other Clans.

"Breezestar, these are the Dragonwings. I think they have the right to come here, at least this once. They bear no hostile intent towards the Clans," Shimmerstar replied steadily.

Rainstar said nothing, simply watched with amber eyes glinting.

The final leader was a pure black tom with flashing green eyes. He was larger than the other leaders, but not overweight. By both process of elimination and the stories from her kithood, Reedfeather decided he probably lead RiverClan. He watched the Dragonwings curiously.

"I think as long as they don't cause trouble, I'm interested in what they have to say," he announced.

"Thank you, Scalestar," Shimmerstar said to him.

Skystar stepped forward. The attention of every cat was immediately on her. "I swear by the Starwings, we mean you no harm," she promised solemnly.

"I guess it's all right," Rainstar finally meowed.

Breezestar hesitated, then agreed.

"That's settled, then," said Shimmerstar, then climbed into the tree. Skystar flew up after her. The cats in the clearing watched her fly, fascinated. Icesky followed Shadepelt, who was the ThunderClan deputy, over to where the other deputies were sitting underneath the tree. Dragonsplash followed the ThunderClan medicine cat, Whitefern, and his apprentice, Sandpaw, to where the medicine cats were sitting by one of the tall rocks. Reedfeather and the other dragon cats found places to sit among the Clan cats. Reedfeather ended up between a Dragonwing flier named Embershadow and a tom who smelled like ShadowClan. He had blue eyes and brown fur with gray on his paws and forehead. He also had gray spots and a gray stripe down his back all the way to the end of his tail. He smiled at Reedfeather and shifted to the side so she wasn't so squished. Reedfeather smiled back, then turned her attention to the leaders when Shimmerstar yowled to start the meeting.

Each leader shared their news in turn, reporting kits born, new apprentices and warriors, and that kind of thing. Each leader also welcomed the Dragonwings, with varying degrees of friendliness. Scalestar and Shimmerstar seemed friendly towards them, Rainstar seemed neutral, and although Breezestar wasn't friendly, she wasn't openly hostile, either. Finally, it was Skystar's turn. She stood up on the branch she was on.

"The Dragonwings thank you for allowing us to join your Gathering," Skystar said to the assembled cats. "I am Skystar, and my deputy Icesky and my healer - or as I think you would call her, my medicine cat - Dragonsplash are here as well. As for what has happened to us this moon-turn, we have no new kits, apprentices, or warriors, but I do have one major piece of news."

"About a week and a half ago, we were attacked by a large group of hawks, seeking revenge for the hawks we have killed for prey." The Clan cats were astonished that hawks would attack a large group of cats, especially the dangerous-looking dragon cats. Skystar continued, "We were badly outnumbered, and would have been wiped out if it hadn't been for the grace of the Starwings and ThunderClan's help." She turned to look at Shimmerstar. "I don't think we will ever be able to repay you for what you did for us, even though you had only learned of our existence that day."

Shimmerstar dipped her head. "I'm just glad that you survived."

Skystar turned back to address the other cats. "Luckily, the Starwings did not take any of our cats, although one of my fliers, Reedfeather, was badly injured. She has healed, however, and is here tonight." She sat down on the branch. "That's all I would like to say," she concluded.

Rainstar stood up. "This Gathering is over," he said. "Now, it's time to mingle among ourselves. I'm sure many of you are eager to meet these dragon cats."

Reedfeather stood up, stretching. Then the ShadowClan cat next to her did the same thing. When both of them were done stretching, he said, "I never thought I'd meet a cat who hunted hawks as prey," he said. "I'm Windbreeze, by the way. I'm a ShadowClan warrior."

"I'm Reedfeather," Reedfeather replied. "It's nice to meet you, Windbreeze."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Reedfeather," Windbreeze said, grinning. "How would you like me to introduce you to some of the Clan cats?"

"I'd like that a lot," Reedfeather said excitedly. "We don't get to meet cats outside the Dragonwings often."

"Well, maybe that'll change if you guys are going to start coming to Gatherings. Come on, I'll introduce you to our deputy." He led Reedfeather towards a cream-colored tom at the other end of the clearing.

As they approached, the deputy turned and looked at Reedfeather curiously. "Who is this, Windbreeze?" he asked.

"This is Reedfeather, Darkclaw," Windbreeze explained. Reedfeather looked at his paws and saw that they were darkly colored. She wondered if that was how he got his name.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Reedfeather," Darkclaw said politely. "I'm sure we both have a lot to learn from each other."

They made small talk for a few more minutes, then Windbreeze took Reedfeather over to where a mottled gray she-cat was talking to a calico tom and a smaller orange tabby she-cat. As they approached, the gray she-cat glanced at Reedfeather, turned, and stalked away.

"Sorry about Ashstream," the calico tom apologized as Reedfeather and Windbreeze came up to him and the smaller cat. "She's the WindClan deputy, and she seems to agree with Breezestar that you dragon cats shouldn't be here."

"And you don't?" Reedfeather asked.

"Nope." The calico smiled. "I'm Firestreak, medicine cat of RiverClan. This is my apprentice, Sandpaw."

"I'm Reedfeather," Reedfeather explained. "I'm one of the fliers of the Dragonwings."

"Fliers?" Sandpaw asked curiously.

"Like your warriors," Reedfeather explained. "We hunt, and fight if we have to. But we don't fight very often."

Windbreeze, Reedfeather, and the two RiverClan cats talked until Skystar called to the Dragonwings that they were leaving.

"Bye," Reedfeather told the others. "I hope I see you again."

As the Dragonwings flew back to camp, Reedfeather flew ahead to where Skystar was flying. "That was a lot of fun," Reedfeather said. "We should do it again sometime."

Skystar smiled. "I think that's up to the Clans," she said. "But I'd like to come again too."

Reedfeather smiled as they flew back to camp, glad she'd had a chance to make new friends.

_**A/N: So, they got to go to a Gathering! Windbreeze will reappear at some point, by the way. What do you think? Why is Breezestar so hostile to the Dragonwings? I have no idea. Maybe you magically know? If you do, tell me! Review and stay awesome!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Well, here's another chapter. Enjoy!**_

Reedfeather sat up and yawned. It was dawn, and she was still tired from going to the normal cats' "Gathering" a couple nights before. But that didn't mean she could sleep all day. It was time to train Sunnypaw.

The red-and-yellow dragon cat walked out of the den and stretched her wings in the early morning light, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her wings. Then she looked around for any sign of her apprentice. But Sunnypaw was nowhere to be seen.

Reedfeather sighed. Sunnypaw had to still be asleep. She walked over to the bush where the apprentices slept and called for Sunnypaw. A few seconds later the yellow apprentice stumbled out sleepily. She mumbled something unintelligible.

"Get something to eat. We're going to train today," Reedfeather told Sunnypaw. Sunnypaw mumbled again and headed in the general direction of the prey-pile. Reedfeather followed.

When Reedfeather got to the pile, she noted that although they still had plenty of prey, they had less prey than usual. She decided she'd have to hunt with Sunnypaw. Reedfeather started eating a squirrel, then looked up when Skystar sat next to her and started to eat a thrush.

"Hello, Skystar," Reedfeather said politely.

"Hello, Reedfeather," Skystar replied. "What are you and Sunnypaw going to do today?"

"I was thinking I'd take her hunting," Reedfeather told the gray leader.

"Well, that's a coincidence," Skystar said. "I'm taking Stormpaw hunting, too."

"I have an idea," Reedfeather said.

"What is it?" Skystar asked.

"We could have a hunting competition," Reedfeather explained. "That way, we can assess our apprentices' hunting skills, and the Dragonwings have more prey."

"That's a great idea!" Skystar exclaimed. "Let's do it."

After all four cats had finished eating, Skystar led them to a clearing in the forest and sat down. Reedfeather sat next to her.

"What are we going to do?" Stormpaw asked.

"We're going to have a hunting competition," Reedfeather explained.

Sunnypaw interrupted, too curious to wait. She seemed to have woken up by now. "A competition?"

"Yes, a competition," Reedfeather answered, then continued. "You two will go in different directions, and catch as much prey as possible. Skystar and I will be watching you and assessing your skills, so do the best you can. The one who catches the most prey, wins."

"When do we start?" Stormpaw asked.

"Now."

Both apprentices immediately took off in different directions. Reedfeather followed Sunnypaw, using illusion to hide herself. She noticed that as soon as Sunnypaw saw there was no prey in the air at that moment, she descended back down into the trees. Reedfeather smiled. Many apprentices, and even some full-fledged fliers, stayed in the air until they found airborne prey, even though there was much more prey on the ground. Reedfeather followed Sunnypaw to the ground, then released her illusion, hiding herself in the undergrowth instead. She could have maintained the illusion, but it took less energy to simply hide.

Sunnypaw dropped into a crouch. She must have found some prey. Reedfeather followed her gaze to a rabbit nibbling on a plant. She held her breath. Rabbits were very hard to catch, because of their wonderful hearing. Sunnypaw crept towards the rabbit slowly and silently, and then, when she was only a wing's width away, leaped. She landed squarely on the rabbit. A perfect kill.

The rest of the assessment went very similarly, with only one missed catch. Reedfeather emerged from the bushes, surprising Sunnypaw quite a bit, and helped her carry her prey back to the clearing. Sunnypaw had caught, in addition to the rabbit, a squirrel, a vole, and three mice.

When the two she-cats got back to the clearing, Skystar and Stormpaw were already waiting for them, with a small pile of prey at their feet. Reedfeather set down Sunnypaw's prey, then noted that the two piles were about the same size. Skystar walked from one pile to the other, counting the prey. Soon she walked back to the center of the clearing to announce the winner.

"Sunnypaw wins," she announced, "by a mouse."

Sunnypaw squeaked excitedly. "Do I get a prize?"

Skystar considered that for a moment. "You can have first pick of the prey-pile when we get home."

The four cats picked up the prey and started home, flying slower than normal from the weight of all the prey. Reedfeather was proud of her apprentice. In a couple moon-turns, when she was ready, Sunnypaw would be a great flier.

Reedfeather realized just then that being a mentor was the best thing that had happened to her in her whole life.

_**A/N: So, just some random filler because I wanted to write some normal interaction between cats without weird stuff happening. Part 9 will be longer coming than the previous 8 chapters, because although I have written both chapter 9 and chapter 10, chapter 9 got lost before I could post it on my website, .com. Part 10 is posted on there, although if you check it out there, you'll skip over something really important (it actually gets a plot! *gasps*) so it's probably better to just wait the probably very short time until chapter 9 is rewritten. Read, review, and stay awesome!**_


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